Chapter 376 - 125: Building Discipline
Chapter 376: Chapter 125: Building Discipline
After the victory at the Battle of Ancient Dumu Town, Robson didn’t order his soldiers to continue pursuing the Beastmen.
If he killed off all the Beastmen laborers, then things in Auric Province would become much more difficult to handle.
Securing the complete subjugation of the nobles in Auric Province would definitely require the use of force.
If Auric Province wasn’t plagued by Beastmen, it would have to become a den of bandits. Compared to the latter, the former was a much more sophisticated strategy.
In the Battle of Ancient Dumu Town, the gains in terms of experience were minimal. After all, it was just a group of goblins and Kobolds, and Robson even had his soldiers hold back.
Under these circumstances, the stats on his Mount & Blade panel were naturally not going to be ideal.
By contrast, what pleased Robson the most was the number of captured Kobolds.
Thanks to the incentives of the merit system, most of the Kobolds had been kept physically intact.
It was a one-sided battle. For the Human soldiers, the paltry resistance the Kobolds offered was nothing to speak of.
When the battle was over and the numbers were tallied, there were astoundingly over one thousand Kobolds!
Since Robson’s count primarily included young and able-bodied Kobolds, this number was already quite substantial!
In the Beastman Empire, even the low-tier races were divided into various classes.
Clearly, Kobolds were far more desirable than goblins, and a good deal rarer, too.
After all, compared to goblins, who seemed to breed indiscriminately, Kobolds were relatively more restrained.
With this batch of Kobolds, Robson could finally open his other mine.
Ever since discovering those energy relays, the construction of the Magic Arrays was no longer constrained by terrain and had become much easier.
Once both mines were at full production capacity, he could truly begin to fully arm his army and conduct trade with the rest of the kingdom.
......
"Is everything just about ready?"
Robson asked while hunched over his desk, writing something.
He was speaking, of course, to Ais, who had just entered the tent.
Ais nodded.
"No problems at all. The letters have been sent to Officer Boyang and Earl Uman in the north," Ais said, nodding.
The letters to Bo Yang and Uman were, of course, meant to have them stir up some trouble in the north to coordinate with Robson’s own plans.
The other minor nobles of Auric Province couldn’t be allowed to suffer from banditry, but Count Sriphine certainly could!
According to Robson’s original plan, Count Sriphine would have had no chance to return with reinforcements in time anyway, but Lord Robson always prioritized caution.
This was the benefit of all his previous efforts. Although Robson had received a great deal of help along the way, his fundamental power base was one Lord Robson had carved out for himself, blow by blow.
Baron Boyang, Earl Uman, and a host of other nobles were no exception. It was precisely because of this that Robson could now command them as easily as his own limbs, even when ordering them to do his dirty work.
As for whether doing this would trouble his, Lord Robson’s, conscience? The very idea was laughable.
All crows are black, as they say. These were the common tactics of noble infighting. Without the threat of the Beastmen, the nobles of the Frank Kingdom weren’t any better.
The only difference between now and then was that the infighting had shifted from the Southern and Northern factions battling each other to the Southern and Northern factions ganging up on the Military Merit faction.
If he was really going to start worrying about his conscience, he might as well drag the nobles of Auric Province over and ask them to explain the situation with that horde of goblins.
Robson nodded after listening to Ais’s report, then handed him a letter.
"Later, give these to the new adjutants in the army. Tell them this is the new disciplinary code for the Affleck Army," Robson said, gesturing to the papers.
"Code?" Ais asked, looking down at the documents in his hand in confusion.
He flipped to a page and saw it was filled with detailed military regulations and a strict system of punishments, mostly concerning—
"From now on, everyone in the army, from top to bottom, will be rewarded and punished according to these rules. And enforcement must be strict."
This was in response to some problems Robson had recently identified within the army.
Originally, Robson had run the army using a fairly common customary law—that is, there was no formal system, and things were done according to tacitly understood, unwritten rules.
This was the state of affairs in most armies throughout the Human World.
After all, most Human armies were composed of Noble Alliance Armies. Their soldiers were soldiers in wartime and peasants in peacetime. It was clearly unrealistic to expect them to become familiar with complex military laws and regulations in a short period.
Robson’s army had originally operated under this same principle.
But with the development of his merit system, this approach was clearly no longer suitable for the army under his command.
This problem had already begun to reveal itself back in Ancient Dumu Town. The military structure’s hold over the soldiers had weakened considerably, even when morale was high.
According to Robson’s original plan, the goblins and other Beastmen shouldn’t have suffered so many losses.
But it couldn’t be helped. People are driven by personal gain.
The old customary laws had too little restraining force on the soldiers, and the temptation of earning merit was simply too great.
Having followed Robson for some time, Ais was something of a veteran himself. Reading the contents, his mind immediately made several connections.
"This... won’t it damage the soldiers’ morale?" Ais asked, looking at Robson with a hint of doubt.
Robson shook his head.
He was, of course, well aware of the consequences.
But it couldn’t be helped. The Affleck Domain was close to the Beastman Empire; for him, war was a constant.
Constant warfare required a professional army. Right now, everyone was riding the momentum of their recent victories, keeping their morale high and making them fight fiercely.
But there is no such thing as an undefeated army, nor an ever-victorious general. Not everyone is Grantham.
"Morale is temporary, but discipline is permanent.
Even the sharpest sword must be kept in its sheath.
Of course, your concerns are not without merit. Take a look at what comes next," Robson said with a smile.
Ais’s curiosity was piqued, and he began to flip through the following pages.
He saw that these pages were filled with new regulations concerning rewards.
Not only were the rules for punishment clearer, but the system for rewards was also more explicit. The path for advancement was now wider than ever before.
"Oh?" Having been with Robson all this time, Ais had become more attuned to these matters. He immediately understood Robson’s intent.
"You intend to announce these at the same time?" Ais asked, looking at Robson.
"To be precise, we announce the latter part first," Robson confirmed with a nod.
Ais’s eyes lit up. He instantly understood the brilliance of this tactic.
In truth, these were all old tricks that Robson had used countless times in his previous life.
The old "stick and carrot" approach—mixing punishments with rewards. It was an old routine, but it was effective at winning people over.
And when dealing with these soldiers, Robson didn’t even have to offer extravagant rewards.
After all, these soldiers were formerly peasants; their expectations weren’t high to begin with.
"I understand," Ais said, mulling over Robson’s words. He felt he had learned a great deal.
Robson was unaware that his little demonstration might have just created another legendary manipulator in the Affleck Domain.
"Then go and take care of it. Once you’re done, get the army ready. We need to hurry to Vidom County," Robson said with a smile.
Vidom County was where Auric Province and Sri County met, with both territories situated along the Largus River.